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Genesis 9:22-25
(22)  And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
(23)  And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
(24)  And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
(25)  And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

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What is wrong with one man seeing another man's nakedness you may wonder? Men in sports locker rooms do it all the time.

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Why did Ham's brothers go to the trouble of walking into the tent backwards with a covering blanket so as to not see their father's nakedness?

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What did Ham do to Noah?

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This is biblical trivia, and an important lesson in Bible Study: 

• The text by itself opens the mind to several speculations. The act Ham performed was twofold. Seeing his father's nakedness and performing an action against Noah.   But this is not what it seems.

• First of all, verse 22 introduces Canaan as a son of Ham; Noah's grandson. Ham then tells his older brothers what happened.

• Next, Verse 23 Shem and Japheth go to great trouble to not see their father's nakedness and cover with a blanket.

• What was the sin committed in this situation? One might think it was some kind of a homosexual encounter. 

• Verse 25 adds more specifics to the situation. It was actually Ham's son, Noah's grandson who acted against Noah.

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WHAT COULD BE A LOGICAL EXPLANATION?

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The answer is not clear in these verses alone. The answer is found in the laws that were known individually by the patriarchs long before the public declaration of God's judgments and commands at Mt. Sinai hundreds of years later.

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The key for the answer is the phrase "the nakedness of his father".

 

Leviticus 18:8-17
(
(8)  The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.
(9)  The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.
(10)  The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.
(11)  The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
(12)  Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman.
(13)  Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman.
(14)  Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.
(15)  Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
(16)  Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness.
(17)  Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.
 

It was wrong to see the nakedness and even worse to act upon it.

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NOTE: The Hebrew definition for the English word, approach.

qârab
kaw-rab'
A primitive root; to approach (causative bring near) for whatever purpose: - (cause to) approach, (cause to) bring (forth, near), (cause to) come (near, nigh), (cause to) draw near (nigh), go (near), be at hand, join, be near, offer, present, produce, make ready, stand, take.

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The wicked action against Noah was possibly Noah's grandson having sex with his grandmother while she was passed out drunk.

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Noah and his wife drank too much wine and passed out from the toxic effect. Canaan took advantage of the situation with a despicable behavior of wickedness toward his grandparents.

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Speculation? Yes! Possible, by logical contextual research Yes.

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The lesson is this:   Isaiah 28:10
(10)  For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
 

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                                                                            I REPORT YOU DECIDE

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